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The last 3 0r 4 months we have been packing them in with 2 or 3 deep around the bar. It is even hard to navigate across the bar. In the last 4-6 weeks we had 2or3 knockdown drag out fights. Tonight about 9 it was packed again with high energy and the crowd was getting cranked. All of a sudden over half the bar was out in the parking lot and about 6-8 guys and gals were trying to kill each other.

The owner, a female manager and my host  was trying to break it up and call the cops on cell phones at the same time. During that time I didnt miss a beat with 2 or 3 singers We didnt stop. When fights start I'm more concerned with protecting the gear. Come to find out later one of them was punching the door on my van.
It's not regulars but nutsos from elsewhere

Soon after that 1/3 of the place was empty but in 30 minutes to an hour it was packed again. (with different people) At that time when a bunch was going out we didnt know if they were going out to smoke, fight or watch a fight. After we packed out I went up and the owner was still there. We were all dead tired. We discussed security and other things but I sure dont like to see it because when a bar gets a rep it kills the business.   It reminds me of bars years ago with everybody wired and going nuts. We could tone it down a bit with slower filler music etc. but we are in the habit of high paced high energy shows.

This a problem I have dealt with in the past in many capacities from shore patrol to manager but have not seen it this severe for many years. Whats sad the room next door would seat 3-400 but the business owner and property owner cant work out some minor problems. This  is a vent and ramblings from a very tired old man.

Dang, it must really hurt the knuckles to hit somebody in the cold weather you guys have up there!  Down here all the clubs have to have their own security people, generally they hire a few off duty cops who are authorized to wear their uniforms ad are there in an official capacity.  They are paid by the bar but the bar also pays the dept something too.  One fight means everyone involved gets a tresspass warrant for a year, they are really not allowed back in.  Generally fights are quite rare in the local clubs, karaoke or anything else.  I am thinking a part of the reason is the way they have to enforce the occupancy limits.  All the bars around with entertainment have a door check for IDs even if they don;t charge a cover and the numbers are pretty carefully watched, they just don't let them get crowded, ever.  The fine for a place having more folks than the posted linits is a minimum two week shutdoes a couple of grand in cash.  This is major hurt for the owners so they really do a decent job of counting.

Of course I live in the shadow of Disney World and we have lots of tourist types everywhere and the local world is tailored to make it a nice experience for them.  We also have severe repercussions for any bartender allowing a patron to get too drunk, they are not supposed to serve someone who has had too much to drink or is obviously otherwise intoxicated.  Of course these laws have really killed a lot of the old fun spots but what has come in their place is actually nice and safe and generally pleasant to enjoy some music.

Seems to me it's more a cultural thing, I do remember back in the 70s we used to have lots of bars with reps for being places where fights happened but in the last 15 years that has really changed dramatically.  Sorry to hear about your van Bro, that really stinks.  It's a shame you couldn't find out who it was and do something about it legally.  

BSR

Security isn't a big deal.. the place I started out singing at has one on shift at the start of the karaoke night. Not armed. And it felt great knowing there was someone there that could call the cops and give a great statement on what happened.

Once a month, we show the UFC(ultimate fighting challange) on our 15' screen. We get $5 ahead and the place is packed with a line out the door. But before the night is over we seem to have a knock down drag out fight from hell. I often wonder if its worth all that extra cash the bar makes because once you have a bad reputation its hard to get rid of.

By the way, is your van ok?

Mojo

Yea Matt they have saved many an (@$%&#!) because they knew what was going on and could prevent crap before it happened. More often than not the regulars too keep a cool head including girl friends who stand between the assailants.

Here it is law if you have something like 2 or 300 guests you are required to hire security.

Any bar that doesn't have [shadow=red]properly trained [/shadow]security personnel is asking for trouble and setting themselves up for lawsuits or closure by the authorities.  Bars selling ridiculously cheap  drinks are asking the same.  For a small percentage of what they make a night, they can save themselves a lot of hassles.  A bar here just went through a very costly week because of improperly trained security personnel. Now they have to hire off duty police at $150/hr per officer.  Properly trained staff stops trouble before it starts.

http://www.thechronicleherald.ca/Search/1000675.html

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You can be strange but not a stranger

I think so.. The owner told me who the witness was and they got him down the street. He said the guy pounded the drivers side door. When I was leaving the witness was telling me what happened as I was leaving but I already had a dent and I was too tired to mess around  in the cold and dark. I'll check this morn and take picsif  there are new dents.

It takes a lot of work to get the magic going where everybody in the bar is smiling and totally involved. The singers get better and the crowd appreciates the talent. After an incident like this the magic is gone!!!!!

We seem to always get a late night surge (mostly non-singers) and we got it back. My college kid singers was dancing more than singing so we would play about 30 sec then start the singer. The dancers didnt miss a beat unless the song was slow.. It is hard to explain to those that still adhere to the old karaoke ways but last night had to be one of the weirdest karaoke nights we had ever seen.

I dont if it is local or state law  but locally  if somebody gets hurt or like this incident management has 3 minutes to call 911. If they dont they are subject to personal financial damages.

I seriously doubt that the filler music is having much effect on the state of the crowd.  It's just background noise to the people who aren't paying attention to the show.  You could play nothing but Yanni and there would still be bar fights.

With 60 years of experience as a singer, MC, KJ, DJ, and band experience I can read, judge, interpret what turns the the crowd on, and entertain crowds. We set the mode, alcohol intensifies it. There are many factors involved but without our intense talent this would be nothing more than a boring bar. When I say I can set the tempo, I mean I can set the tempo, mood and control the atmosphere. I am an professional entertainer period and have seen it all....

Morgans gonna be jerked because I used so many I I,s but the truth is the truth

there used to be a lot of fights at the place i liked to go...i clled it full contact karaoke. It was pretty cazy, but has been pretty tame lately....thank God

My partner KJ used to be a gaurd at a prison, so in the event of a fight or anything like that, he has someone fill in for him and he defuses the situation fairly quickly when his DOC training kicks in instinctivly.  There was one time at the last bar we worked at where someone told the bar tender to call the cops and he didn't cause he didn't want to get in trouble for over serving again (which was a contributing factor to this particular situation) so I called the cops on my cell phone.  The owner wasn't too happy that I was the one who called the cops, but hey, when the they are paying the KJ to entertain and he ends up being security as well... there's a problem.  

As far a filler music effecting the crowd, I have some friends who are just DJ's in a city about 3 hours north of me (Port Townsend for those in NW WA) and they were banned from playing any classic rock or "hard core gangsta rap" for a while because every time they did, a fight broke out.  As far as keeping the show going or not during a fight, they go by this rule.  If the fight is in the parking lot, keep playing, if the fight is in the bar, kill the music and turn the lights up to full.  If the fight gets too out of hand inside the bar, they shut down for the night and end the show early.  In another situation at the same bar that I described above with my partner KJ being security and me calling the cops... The cops got called in (this time by the bar tender) after a patron punched out a window in the front door, and wound up tackling him down... 3 cops for this one guy and he still resisted.  After he was arrested and removed, they made us turn off the music and turn up the lights.  Show was over after that.

[glow=blue]We work in the same place we started in eight years ago. Each owner NEVER took care of fights...got the place a bad rep. the guy who owns it now...BIG CHANGE...he's 6'5...and mean. ..He lets it be known at the beginning of each show...YOU FIGHT...you NEVER come back in. Period. I don't care if your my kin...YOU WON"T come back in...EVER. Haven't had a problem in three years. IF a fight looks like it's beginning..he walks over...they see him coming..they become buddies REALLY fast. I adore that man. [/glow]

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Three minutes is a long time if someone is bleeding out.  Most injuries caused by ineffective security staff or fight is someone hitting their head, beaking their neck or bleeding out.  It doesn't take much.

Bottom line what happens in an establishment is the [highlight=red]responsibilty [/highlight] of the establishment.

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You can be strange but not a stranger

Wow, I guess I must live in an area where people just LOVE each other! I think in all the years I've hosted (for others and then for myself), there's been one fight that was even notable - was in a nasty little tavern that seemed to be the catch basin for the lower echelon of the town's people.  Lots of farm boys in this town and if they fight amongst themselves, best just to step back and hope nothing gets broken. And those fisticuffs never seem to last long.  However, if someone else starts something, farm boys take it upon themselves to end it...hey, these guys toss 150-pound hay bales like they're nothing, and it doesn't take much for some out of control 160-pound nitwit to realize that the fight will be over much sooner than anticipated if the boys in Carhartt move in.

I always say that I have the "oh oh, my mom's here" look - can absolve a fight very quickly. It's true - I must remind a lot of potential jerks of their mothers. Doesn't take but one reminder about who's who and when and where.

At one of the 2 venues my partner works at, for the most part any fighting that goes on there is between the 2 brothers that own the bar.  Makes for a somewhat stressfull work environment at times, but they have some very strong historic ties to this establishment, so they continue to work there, not only as KJ's at night, but also work in the restaraunt during the day -her as a hostess and him as a delivery driver.

The other venue is still kind of new to us, but to my knowledge we've never had a fight there.

At one of the 2 venues my partner works at, for the most part any fighting that goes on there is between the 2 brothers that own the bar.  Makes for a somewhat stressfull work environment at times, but they have some very strong historic ties to this establishment, so they continue to work there, not only as KJ's at night, but also work in the restaraunt during the day -her as a hostess and him as a delivery driver.

The other venue is still kind of new to us, but to my knowledge we've never had a fight there.

If a fight breaks out in the bar I'm instructed by the bar staff to cut the music and they turn up all the lights and the music is to stay off and lights up until the situation is resolved. The people involved and everyone in their party with them gets their drinks pulled and is asked to leave. Somewhere in the middle I can make an announcement so we don't lose the hole crowd, but no music.  This method is very effective for damage control.

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FlipSide Karaoke
Scott

that's pretty good Flipper!

Course the better way is to prevent a situation once it starts to boil. THat's where trained security comes in from. Someone who's job it is to watch the crowd. Tig and I used to do it all the time. We'd see someone sitting there, just full of negative energy. The crowd would react to it INSTINCTIVELY. You know, the one guy that sits in a crowded room, yet seems to have some space around him!?! The one guy or girl that is NOT having a good time, despite the joviality all around them? They soak up positive energy like a sponge. They're like their own little vortex!

Anyway, you can usually spot them when you're attentive enough. Of course, this kind of training comes from paying attention to body language.